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Wednesday, October 29, 2014

The threat of Islamic State has crossed the borders
of Syria to neighboring Lebanon, making Christians there arm themselves
to defend their land and families from the extremists. RT goes to the
Syrian-Lebanese border, to meet the militias.

More than 20 people have been killed in northern Lebanon in
clashes between the army and Sunni militants in the past four
days. AP quoted Lebanese security officials as saying that 12
soldiers and 10 civilians were killed while 92 soldiers and 63
civilians have been wounded since Friday.

"With the Syrian war next door, we have many troubles, many
suspicious people come here, we have to be on high alert. We have
to defend our land from terrorists, from ISIS and Nusra Front
[al-Qaeda branch operating in the area," Abu Tony, a militia
member of the town of Qaa in north-western Lebanon told.

Qaa militia patrol the border area every night, with thousands of
Islamic State fighters and other jihadists reportedly massing on
the border with Lebanon near the town of Arsal, less than 20
miles away.

There are concerns the militants are about to launch an onslaught
against the Christian population in the region.
"Behind this mountain there are militants and they always try
to infiltrate here. Last time, just five days ago, with fought
with them and killed most of them," Abu Georges of Qaa
militia told The men of Qaa, which is
situated some three miles from the Syrian border, organized
themselves six months ago. There are around 300 in the group,
with more self-defenders expected to join the militia
forces.Thousands of civilians had to flee their homes in northern
Lebanon's Tripoli area over the weekend, under the threat of
Islamic State militants attack.

"Just seeing them makes you terrified! Sometimes I go to
sleep and see them in my nightmares. They told me they would take
our village, and then others - all the way to Tripoli and make it
part of Islamic State," a 76-year-old truck driver Makhul,
who was kidnapped by the militants just outside his village in
Lebanon, told.

The old man spent over 20 days in captivity, and his release cost
his family 30,000 US dollars.

Christians maintain
considerable power in Lebanon, with estimates suggesting the
number is roughly equal to Muslims. The exact percent of
Christian believers has been disputed for decades, with the last
official census conducted in the country in 1932, but studies
show there might be up to 40 percent currently living in
Lebanon.According to a report,
published at the start of the year by a group monitoring
persecution of Christians worldwide, at least 2,100 Christians
died because of their beliefs in 2013. Most of the dead were in
Syria, where radical Islamist groups have clamped down on a
long-established religious minority.